$3.5M MARIJUANA OPERATION BUSTED IN EAST END

An electrical transformer powerful enough to serve a rural community was
used to grow $3.5 million worth of marijuana in two Scarborough industrial
malls, police say.

Police busted a drug operation that had workers harvesting more than 3,500
plants around the clock in a couple of units on Markham Rd. and McNicoll Ave.

As tiny mites buzzed around their heads, officers wearing gas masks had to
tread through warehouses thick with plants, careful not to breathe in the
deadly levels of carbon dioxide used to speed the growing process.

The 1,000-square-foot warehouses were equipped with $150,000 in growing
equipment, police say.

A second floor had been added to allow for more plants. An electrical
transformer helped supply energy to hundreds of growing lamps.

"It's the largest commercial marijuana-grow operation that I've ever seen,
and I've been working 22 years," said Detective Sergeant David Brownell.
"The hydro involved was incredible. They had transformers that could serve
a small community. It was just glowing hot."

Three workers were found inside tending to the plants, 4,000 of which were
ready for sale. A work schedule taped to a wall suggested at least two
others were absent.

"They're experienced in the complete production, from start to finish,"
said Detective Neil Hollywood, who was surprised at the sophistication of
the operation. He believes the hydroponic pot labs had been operating for
only three and six months before the police bust.

Police believe the three workers are front men hired by an organized crime
ring to tend the operation. "They are professionals," Brownell said. "These
are not people growing a few marijuana plants in their closet. These were
ready to be shipped to the U.S."

Quynh Quant Le, 54, Thawh Minh Le, 24, and Manh Tien Nguyen, 49, are
charged with producing and possessing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.

All three are Canadian citizens. But police say at least 10 Vietnamese
people arrested in recent pot raids outside Toronto were in Canada illegally.

Often, workers were taken directly from the airport to the operation, where
they live and work in "extremely dangerous conditions," Hollywood said.
"They're the lowest part of the food chain."

Toronto police seized 140 operations last year and have already found 50
this year. But chasing them is a losing battle.

"There's a huge amount of money and very little risk" in such operations,
Brownell said.

Unlike outdoor pot farms, hydroponic labs in homes are relatively easy to
conceal.

Industrial units, which have no windows, operate under a fake business name
and typically use an unusual amount of electricity, are even more difficult
to spot.

"The only way you can identify (commercial pot labs) is through a tip-off
or informant info," Brownell said.